Bacteria

PLASTIPHOBIA - Symphony Environmental Warns California Bill Would Ban All Plastic Shopping Bags at Grocery Stores at huge cost to the environment

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

LONDON, Feb. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A decade ago, California became the first state to ban single-use plastic bags, ushering in a wave of plastiphobia from coast to coast.  Now, California legislators are back for more, hoping to pass a law that closes loopholes and in effect bans all types of plastic shopping bags from being offered at the checkout.

Key Points: 
  • Under a new Bill announced last week, California would ban all plastic shopping bags by 2026.
  • LONDON, Feb. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A decade ago, California became the first state to ban single-use plastic bags, ushering in a wave of plastiphobia from coast to coast.
  • Now, California legislators are back for more, hoping to pass a law that closes loopholes and in effect bans all types of plastic shopping bags from being offered at the checkout.
  • However, Symphony Environmental, a company at the forefront of environmental packaging technology, is clear that banning single-use plastic is not the solution.

Blacksmith Medicines and Zoetis Announce Research Collaboration for Novel Animal Health Antibiotics

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Blacksmith Medicines, Inc. (Blacksmith), a leading biopharma dedicated to discovering and developing medicines targeting metalloenzymes, and Zoetis, the world's leading animal health company, announced today a collaboration to discover and develop novel antibiotics for animal health.

Key Points: 
  • SAN DIEGO, Feb. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Blacksmith Medicines, Inc. (Blacksmith), a leading biopharma dedicated to discovering and developing medicines targeting metalloenzymes, and Zoetis, the world's leading animal health company, announced today a collaboration to discover and develop novel antibiotics for animal health.
  • Blacksmith and Zoetis will collaborate to discover and develop novel antibiotics to selectively target bacteria for animal health," said Zachary Zimmerman, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Blacksmith.
  • "As part of our commitment to reduce the dependency on antibiotic classes shared with human health, we are pleased to leverage our veterinary expertise along with our extensive collection of pathogens in this collaboration with Blacksmith," said Dr. Jeff Watts, Research Director, External Innovation at Zoetis.
  • "Through our research, we aim to ultimately provide new options for our customers to treat life-threatening infections in livestock."

'THE RADICLE NPP CHALLENGE BY UPL' REVEALS FINALISTS COMPETING FOR US$1.75M INVESTMENT

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The finalists competing for the US$1.75M investment at the Pitch Day Event on March 18th include IBI-Ag, Impetus Agriculture, SOLASTA Bio, and Trillium Ag.

Key Points: 
  • The finalists competing for the US$1.75M investment at the Pitch Day Event on March 18th include IBI-Ag, Impetus Agriculture, SOLASTA Bio, and Trillium Ag.
  • The four finalists competing for investment are:
    IBI-Ag: IBI Ag harnesses the power of antibodies to develop bioinsecticides that target pests with precision while minimizing environmental impact.
  • A US $1 million investment will be made in The Challenge winner and a US $750,000 investment in the second-place winner to accelerate their growth.
  • The NPP Radicle Challenge marks the second competition led by UPL in collaboration with Radicle Growth, with a total of US $1.25M invested in two companies in the 2022 'UPL Radicle Carbon & Soil Challenge'.

'THE RADICLE NPP CHALLENGE BY UPL' REVEALS FINALISTS COMPETING FOR US$1.75M INVESTMENT

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The finalists competing for the US$1.75M investment at the Pitch Day Event on March 18th include IBI-Ag, Impetus Agriculture, SOLASTA Bio, and Trillium Ag.

Key Points: 
  • The finalists competing for the US$1.75M investment at the Pitch Day Event on March 18th include IBI-Ag, Impetus Agriculture, SOLASTA Bio, and Trillium Ag.
  • The four finalists competing for investment are:
    IBI-Ag: IBI Ag harnesses the power of antibodies to develop bioinsecticides that target pests with precision while minimizing environmental impact.
  • A US $1 million investment will be made in The Challenge winner and a US $750,000 investment in the second-place winner to accelerate their growth.
  • The NPP Radicle Challenge marks the second competition led by UPL in collaboration with Radicle Growth, with a total of US $1.25M invested in two companies in the 2022 'UPL Radicle Carbon & Soil Challenge'.

InventHelp Inventor Develops Protective Cover for Travel Neck Pillows (HOF-450)

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- "I wanted to create a simple and convenient way to keep a neck pillow clean when traveling," said an inventor, from Cleveland, Texas, "so I invented the NECK PILLOW CARRY / STORAGE CASE.

Key Points: 
  • PITTSBURGH, Feb. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- "I wanted to create a simple and convenient way to keep a neck pillow clean when traveling," said an inventor, from Cleveland, Texas, "so I invented the NECK PILLOW CARRY / STORAGE CASE.
  • My design ensures that the pillow remains clean and sanitary, even when temporarily storing it in an airport bin or on the ground."
  • The patent-pending invention provides an effective means of protecting a travel neck pillow from germs, dirt, and bacteria.
  • In doing so, it offers a barrier between the neck pillow and various surfaces.

T2 Biosystems Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for the Expanded T2Bacteria Panel

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 12, 2024

LEXINGTON, Mass., Feb. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- T2 Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTOO), a leader in the rapid detection of sepsis-causing pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the expanded T2Bacteria® Panel, adding the capability to detect another bacterial species, Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii), to the expansive panel.

Key Points: 
  • LEXINGTON, Mass., Feb. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- T2 Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTOO), a leader in the rapid detection of sepsis-causing pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the expanded T2Bacteria® Panel, adding the capability to detect another bacterial species, Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii), to the expansive panel.
  • “We are thrilled to receive the FDA 510(k) clearance for the expanded T2Bacteria Panel, to include the detection of A. baumannii, as we believe it will lead to increased adoption of our proprietary direct-from-blood platform,” stated John Sperzel, Chairman and CEO of T2 Biosystems.
  • The FDA-cleared T2Bacteria Panel now detects E. faecium, S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, E. coli, and A. baumannii.
  • Rapid detection of these pathogens is essential to getting infected patients on the appropriate antimicrobial therapy and improving clinical outcomes.

IlluminOss Subsidiary ABL Medical Developing Anti-Microbial Blue Light Fiber Technology!

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I., Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ABL Medical Inc. a subsidiary of IlluminOss Medical Inc.

Key Points: 
  • EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I., Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ABL Medical Inc. a subsidiary of IlluminOss Medical Inc.
  • In 2018, IlluminOss Medical began offering a system in the US that used blue light delivered via a long fiber-optic catheter to harden light-curing liquid within balloon-like orthopedic implants.
  • Now, data from ABL Medical demonstrates that blue light with fiber-optic technology may be adapted for antimicrobial applications.
  • Recent data presented on ABL demonstrates its fiber-optic technology delivering specific frequencies of antimicrobial blue light may be utilized within common medical devices such as catheters, endotracheal tubes and similar medical equipment.

Your unique smell can provide clues about how healthy you are

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

They give clues about who we are, and how healthy we are.

Key Points: 
  • They give clues about who we are, and how healthy we are.
  • Since ancient Greek times, we’ve known that we smell differently when we are unwell.
  • While we rely on blood analysis today, ancient Greek physicians used smell to diagnose maladies.
  • This discovery has led to research programmes involving Joy Milner to identify the precise smell of this disease.

Where do VOCs come from?

  • Sweating produces extra nutrients for these bacteria to metabolise which can result in particularly odorous VOCs.
  • Odour from sweat only makes up a fraction of the scents from VOCs though.
  • Scientists think skin VOCs can offer insights into how the microbiome’s bacteria and the human body work together to maintain our health and protect us from disease.
  • We use mass spectrometry to see this as the average human nose is not sophisticated enough to detect these VOCs.

What has science shown about love pheromones?

  • Mice for example have microbes which contribute to a particularly smelly compound called trimethylamine, which allows mice to verify the species of a potential mate.
  • Scientists have yet to fully decode skin – or other VOCs that are released from our bodies.
  • But evidence for human love pheromones so far is controversial at best.


Aoife Morrin receives funding from Science Foundation Ireland.

Pioneering Technique Reveals New Layer of Human Gene Regulation

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

Now a new study led by Nudler's team at NYU Langone Health reveals that their new technique, Long Range Cleavage sequencing (LORAX-seq), can directly detect where backtracking events begin and end.

Key Points: 
  • Now a new study led by Nudler's team at NYU Langone Health reveals that their new technique, Long Range Cleavage sequencing (LORAX-seq), can directly detect where backtracking events begin and end.
  • The results also suggest that persistent backtracking occurs frequently throughout genomes, happens more often near certain gene types, and has functions well beyond DNA repair.
  • "If further work expands our findings to different developmental programs and pathological conditions, backtracking may be akin to epigenetics, the discovery of which revealed a surprising new layer of gene regulation without changing the DNA code."
  • Locked, backtracked complexes are less likely to be rescued by TFIIS-driven cleavage, and more likely to delay transcription of the gene involved.

Gut microbiome: meet Asaccharobacter celatus – the brain health bug

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

Research over recent years also suggests our gut bacteria may have a role in helping us maintain our brain health as we age.

Key Points: 
  • Research over recent years also suggests our gut bacteria may have a role in helping us maintain our brain health as we age.
  • My own preliminary research suggests one gut bug in particular called Asaccharobacter celatus (A celatus) could be useful.

Cognitive impairment and dementia

  • Worryingly, this often progresses to more severe impairment of brain function known as dementia.
  • Dementia affects more than 55 million people around the world, and projections suggest this number will increase to 82 million by 2030.

How gut bacteria could help

  • The bacteria in our gut perform functions that benefit our overall health.
  • A celatus, along with certain other bacteria, is capable of producing a compound known as equol.
  • These bacteria make equol from a compound called daidzein, which is found in soy products including soy milk, tofu and tempeh.
  • In many cases, we can influence the make-up of our gut bacteria through our diet, and this appears to be true for A celatus.
  • Read more:
    Gut bacteria rewind ageing brain in mice

    However, other research has shown consumption of soy foods in the diet has no effect on cognitive function.

  • All this suggests that, alongside the bacteria, we already have in our gut microbiome, what we eat could be equally important.

My research

  • This relates to complex cognitive tasks we perform daily, including doing maths in our head, or reorganising the day’s tasks in our mind when something unexpectedly changes.
  • This research appears promising, but we need more evidence to confirm the potential benefits of both A celatus bacteria and soy foods in helping older people maintain their brain health as they age.
  • Each week we will look at a different microbe and bring you the most up-to-date research on them.
  • Nathan Nuzum currently works at University College Cork as part of APC Microbiome and receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the INSPIRE COFUND Marie Skłodowska Curie grant agreement No.
  • The unpublished/original work referred to in this article was conducted at Deakin University as part of Dr. Nathan Nuzum's PhD.
  • Dr. Nuzum's PhD supervisors for this work includes his primary supervisor Dr. Helen Macpherson, and his co-supervisors (in alphabetical order) Drs.